The Rod Isn`t Being Spared All That Much In U.s. Schools

September 08, 1987|By Jim Spencer.

At least 2 million schoolchildren are spanked by teachers and administrators each year, according to statistics gathered in a Children magazine special report, ``Corporal Punishment in America`s Schools.``

The greatest number of cases of physical discipline occur in Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri and Kentucky, according to the latest statistics available from federal agencies.

In 1982, Arkansas teachers and administrators paddled 13.5 percent of all students enrolled in public schools. Paddling on the buttocks is the most common corporal punishment in this country, the report stated, ``and many school districts issue `regulation paddles.` ``

The people most likely to resort to corporal punishment are those who were themselves beaten in school, the report says.

Those most likely to be beaten are students in rural or poor school districts, according to a recent study by Temple University`s National Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment and Alternatives in the Schools. Suburban schools are least likely to resort to physical discipline. The center found that incidents of corporal punishment break down along geographic and economic lines, not by race, as was once suspected.

Class size is another determinant. Statistics show that the larger the class, the greater the likelihood of a teacher resorting to corporal punishment.

Corporal punishment does not make children less unruly, the report claims. Instead it creates aggressive behavior and even may lend itself to incidents years later, a delayed psychological reaction.

The report suggests that instead of beating students, schools set up quiet areas in which to isolate disruptive children. In addition, committees of teachers, administrators, parents and students can oversee or mete out discipline.

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE

Wilson Sporting Goods Co. reports that almost all tennis-ball manufacturers use an ``optic yellow`` felt covering. The bright color was developed during the Korean War as a dye released from American planes that were shot down. The color made the aircraft more visible to rescuers.

Later, tennis players determined it was the easiest color to discern on the court.

`REAL` MEN

Jesus tied for fourth place with Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca in a recent survey of people to be emulated. Fast Lane magazine conducted the survey.

Christ and the auto executive finished behind winner Oliver North, President Reagan and actor Clint Eastwood, who has changed his venue from film sets to the city council chambers of Carmel, Calif.